HANG TIME, Texas — Nothing says it’s summer like an ice cream cone (mint chocolate chip, if you’re buying) on one of those blazing afternoons where it’s so hot that your tongue has to lick into overdrive to keep the tasty treat from running all the way down your arm.

That’s kind of the role of the sixth man in basketball, to pop off the bench and get right to work cleaning up the mess. As the dog days of August continue, we’ll leap ahead once more in our summer fantasy with my five picks for the 2013-14 Sixth Man of Year.

Andrei Kirilenko, Nets — He’s 32 years old and it’s been a while since he was the Jazz’s do-it-all player known as “AK-47.” Durability issues dot his past couple of NBA seasons — he spent 2011-12 with CSKA Moscow — but with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in Brooklyn now, Kirilenko won’t be expected to rack up big minutes. That will leave him free to pass, cut and get plenty of easy baskets from Deron Williams on offense and to cut off the angles, hit the boards and block a couple of shots per game on defense. He’ll accept his role and make the most of it. He left $10 million on the table in Minnesota for a chance to win big in Brooklyn and could be a key ingredient if the Nets’ big offseason gamble is going to pay off.

Tyreke Evans, Pelicans — The career path is not supposed to go from winning Rookie of the Year to having your scoring average decline in each of the next three seasons. But after languishing in Sacramento, much of it his own fault, Evans is getting a chance to shine in New Orleans. Yes, the backcourt is crowded with ball handling scorers. All-Star Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon are likely to start, which could work to Evans’ benefit by making him the main offensive option off the bench. At 6-foot-6, he didn’t like playing small forward with the Kings, even though it could be required in a pinch for the undersized Pelicans. Evans says he’s ready and willing to embrace the sixth man role and with his dynamic talent, he could really shine.

Lance Stephenson, Pacers — With a healthy Danny Granger returning to the lineup, it’s quite possible that the Pacers could ask Stephenson to accept a bench role. Depending how the mercurial one accepts it, Indiana could take a big step toward closing the gap with the Heat by having a rotation of wing players that can match up with anybody. There are so many different specific parts of Stephenson’s game that you can pick apart, but his overall energy and attitude played a big part in the Pacers getting to the Eastern Conference finals and pushing Miami to a seventh game. He and Granger will both be free agents in 2014, so this gives Stephenson a chance to show that he’s the one the Pacers should keep.

Jarrett Jack, Cavaliers — He makes the move from a young Warriors team that was trying to break into the Western Conference power structure to the same kind of young, hungry and talented bunch in the Eastern Conference. This is certainly Kyrie Irving’s team, — at least until LeBron comes back — but the future MVP candidate needs a backup and Jack is not just capable, but explosive. He was third in voting for the award last season (behind J.R. Smith and Jamal Crawford) and is likely to pick right up in Cleveland from where he left off in Golden State. Remember, last season he became the first bench player to score 30 and deal 10 assists in a game since Magic Johnson in 1996. Fast company.

Jeremy Lamb, Thunder — The deck is cleared and the stage is set. The ball will come to him for open shots and Lamb has to knock them down. Simple, huh? Well, the game is always going to be easier when a couple of your teammates are named Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The second-year man who saw little playing time outside of Tulsa in the NBA D-League last season is no James Harden coming off the bench at this point. But he should step into the void left by Kevin Martin’s departure and get plenty of opportunities to make defenses pay. He’s a long shot in his first year with significant playing time, but is worth keeping an eye on for the future and will likely have played a big role if OKC makes a run for best record in the league.

103 Comments

I don’t see someone like Jeremy Lamb as a sixth man of the year option, someone like Lance Stephenson or Harrison Barnes, they’re both young, athletic and untapped potential..Stephenson is a pest on the perimeter and can cut to the basket with rapid pace, Barnes however has shown that he can score, his 16 and 6 game vs San Antonio shows how good he’ll be, he can hit shots and get to the rim, and is lengthy for a wing so he could prove to be a good defender and is difficult to defend..other options are Tyreke or Shannon Brown.. I love Shannon Brown, he is athletic as hell, excellent defender and can produce for you off the bench, he has some great plays from his Lakers days, his block against the Hawks backs up my two points on his defensive ability and his athleticism

I don’t see Harrison Barnes coming off the bench either but with Iggy now with the Wariors, either Barnes or Klay Thompson is going to come off the bench. Iguodala is a starter in this league and definitely will play off Curry and David Lee.

i think barnes will start because gsw has enough firepower, so thompson comes off the bench to lead their second unit, which brings him in this dicussion. with jr smith and jamaal crawford, those 3 will battle for the award. the jet, ray allen and manu ginobili are too old now and won`t get enough minutes.

whoever comes off the bench in oakland (barnes is the strong candidate)
crawford, and JR arent even mentioned and they are 6th man contenders every year
lou will if he comes off the bench, terry in the nets

i dont know if bledsoe is going to start at the 2 but im guessing hes off the bench and if so hes my dark horse contender with
the suns

Barnes will come off the bench and should win sixth man of the year, yea JR Smith will need to share more of the limelight in New York, AK47 will be coming when Terry does so much of the same there. While Lamb is starting to come along but probably a few years off. Barnes will be playing a lot of 3-4 with time there when Lee goes to the bench or they want to play small and at three when Iggy goes off or is moved back to the 2 to cover Thompson. My favourite 6th man off all time is Robert Horry later in his career he was mad from the three especially in crunch time.

The sixth man hands down will be Andrew Bynum of Cavs, as he will come off the bench behind Andy Varejao. Other than that, its the rookie of the year 2013-’14 season, Anthony Bennett of the Cavs who wont be starting but come off the bench very lethal and productive, thus, Bennett will also bag the 6th man award. Got it !

Don’t laugh when you read this, allow it to settle in. JJ Berea. Revamped (and hopefully healthy) roster, no Luke Ridnour, and a Coach Karl loves him (http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/185607932.html). Someone has to run that second unit. I dare I say it, yes I do, it will be ran by next year’s 6th man of the year.

1. They never show the Knicks respect cause ur right at least put j.r. Smith in da convo. 2. Harrison barnes will def be a candidate for the award. And 3. although I love John Starks I think the best 6man ever was microwave vinny. Johnson from da bad boys in Detroit

Jeremy Lamb? That OKC needs Lamb to fill the sixth man role left by KMart/Harden doesn’t mean that he will thrive like KMart/Harden. For whatever potential he is unproven almost like a rookie, and he didn’t exactly tear the summer league or d league (well the d league mvp couldn’t get an nba contract and will play overseas next season).

I agree. Don’t know why the Thunder kept Perkins. He holds them back. Hopefully he got a realty check over the summer. This will be his last year w/ Thunder. They can’t afford to continue to hold on to him, if they want to win a championship. He is not the one. I don’t think Jeremy Lamb is going to fill Kevin Martin’s shoes. They need a more seasoned player, yes,getting closer, someone like Jack, to come off the bench. Actually Thunder needed and needs someone better than Kevin Martin. I suggest James Harden?? What happened there? Why did the Thunder let him go? I’m still mourning that loss. And I bet Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are too. The Thunder is my favorite team in the NBA, but I can’t help but have this nasty feeling that they are still missing something. Like the Hawks, I don’t think they made good choises over the summer. Oh well. Go Thunder!!!!!!

they didnt let him go. harden walked because ibaka’s extension took away from harden getting a big extention so he got it with houston and what happened?? he’s setup to win a championship possibly an even better chance than with durant n westbrook

The good 6th man is the one that makes the difference for the playoffs…and honestly i think, in this case, Ray Allen can make the difference and, for me, he was the 6th man of the last season…. that’s all.

if golden state is smart the will put iggy at 2 gaurd and let thompson play the 6th man role i think he could win the award and i also think ak47 should start and paul pearce should move to 6th man just like the spurs moved ganobli to the bench it will help him play longer in the league some of these guys should be on this list and jamal crawford isnt on this list because there talking about new guys who could compete for it this year like recent signings

I’m a Pacers fan. The Most Improved Player award last year COULD have gone to another Pacer in Lance Stephenson. If he is coming off the bench next year he could be BOTH 6th man and Most Improved. While I don’t think this will happen, if Granger is healthy and would come off the bench, he could be a legitimate 6th Man candidate.

once again, another commentator hating on the knicks and their players for no reason. How could you not include JR Smith being that he won this award last season? Not saying he’ll win it this year, but have some respect damn!

Jarrett Jack is probly the strongest candidate. Even though I don’t like the team nor it’s fans that much. I’m really excited to see what the Cavs an do, Irving, Bynum, Bennet, Thompson, Jack, etc makes for a very talented and young core that can shake up the east pretty heavily.

You know a good 6th man would still be Captain Jack – Stephen Jackson at a fraction of the price of others, Providing he could accept limited time from the bench and not allow his ego to get in the way. the spurs I think made a big mistake letting him go before the playoffs. When Greene lost momentum in games 6 and 7, old captain jack could have dished out a few treys and relieved the pressure on Greene. Heat had at least 3 dagger dangers coming off the bench, Battier, Allen and Miller.

Not sure how Harrison Barnes did not make this list, he has a great situation to become one of the best 6th men in the NBA this year in GSW. Both VC & Ryan Anderson are other potential candidates, but I can understand those two are more personal preference.

terry has been in the league like 14 years and has never won 6th man but is one of the best 6th men in NBA history. yet he has never won the 6th man of the year award. so how will this year be any different

Jarret jack made the biggest mistake of his career going to the cavs. I expected him to be with spurs, thunder or lakers. If you put money first after his three years is over nobody will really want him cos no player goes to cavs and comes out the same.

I think the nets do have a reallystrong second unit, they have size experience on their side wont be surprised if they knock out the heat , thats only is deron williams is ready to take orders from kg and pierce, they sld be fine.

If the Warriors end up starting Curry, Klay, Iguodala, Lee, and Bogut, I think Barnes will definitely be a Sixth Man contender. Definitely more so than Lamb (who has yet to prove himself) or Kirilenko (I think his best days are likely behind him). I love Jack, but I think it will be hard for him to replicate what he did last season with Golden State.

Somewhat surprised that Harrison Barnes didn’t get a mention here. It’s surprising to see Stephenson on this list – he’s an inconsistent scorer with more of a defensive orientation, and the award typically goes to offensive spark plugs, or guys with complete all-around games such as Kirilenko.

lol do you even pay attention to the warriors plz dont comment unless you know the current roster at least. iguodala went to GS to be sixth man? barnes is going to have to come off the bench because they need Klay’s 3pt shooting out there

why not Amare ? if he is healthy all the year he will play around 30 minutes per game and if he comes from the bench as in this year when he was healthy he will make 17-18 points easily with 8 rebounds

Amare is going to get 17 or 18 points with 8 rebounds ‘easily’ off the bench LOOOOOOOL with limited minutes so the Knicks can try to save his knees for the playoffs
Amare is washed up!!! he will never be the same player he was in phoenix again!! Hopefully the Knicks can trade him this trade deadline or after this upcoming year when he will only have 1 year left on his contract…

Because A’mare stinks when starting or coming of the bench. He’s Griffin ten years ago, once his youth was gone he was done. He was good because of one man Steve Nash. He’s gonna save NY and get us a championship, lol!

I didnt like how okc signed Perkins for that much money when they could have waited till till a good free agent was availbale at that spot. Im sorry I didnt know Perkins was worth that hefty deal when some centerd like nicola pekovic, injury prone but still talented bynum.

I’m an OKC fan, but I have to agree to this, Perkins is not what you expect to get for 39million. But I wouldn’t underestimate his impact on the team. Altough he’s not the best player at his position in the league, he brings a lot of energy every night and helps where he can on the defensive end. I was starting to worry for OKC next season ’cause they didn’t keep Martin as their sixth man, but when I look at the progres Lamb and Jackson have made, it gives me hope for the future. But Lamb for 6th man of the year? mmm, I don’t see that happen right away..